I live in a naturist village so any form of camera, video recorder or photography is totally banned to protect residents, visitors and especially children.
A few days back a local resident installed a small black object (about the size of your fist)on his wall it’s too high to see details and there are no markings on it.
Some images of our village have appeared which we suspect come from this “camera” how can I check if it is or not?
I don’t want to include police checks but simply want to reply to the request from our village president on a technical level.
Please don’t judge my choice of accommodation it is a personal choice and extremely popular in France where we are a government recognised association and one of many villages of similar standards.
What are the property laws like in France? I’m from the US, and here you would have a rather hard time doing this without help from the police. You are not allowed on someone’s private property without their permission, and since this object is on his property, you would not be able to examine it further without his permission. Without any further explanation (and a picture…which you cannot give us), we would probably not be able to tell you if it is a camera or not. If you are unable to find out if it is a camera from where you can already see it, there’s not much help a forum like this can give you.
Has anyone talked to this neighbor about the black box yet? Maybe it is a some other object - I have heard of similar objects people have used to keep birds/rats away, or it could be a bug zapper. You say you don’t want to involve the police, but even if that was on the table, I would at least give the neighbor a chance to explain themselves.
No judgement here. Good on here for you finding a place that let’s you be yourself like that!
CCTV cameras with night mode capabilities should have infrared lighting. So if you see some red dot in the object, it could be a sign.
But I am not aware of any sure-shot way of knowing with comfortable means.
You could also check the leaked images and try to see if the angle and location of the images fit the location of this potential camera.
It’s a choice of lifestyle. No judging of any kind.
It’s likely the community leadership can ask about the mysterious box; it falls within their purview. If any form of pictorial representation is totally banned, this device is suspect and the owner is obligated to make full disclosure. Step up, Paul.
The infrared may not be visible with naked human eyes, however, if you look at it through your (banned 
) mobiles camera, it is probably sensitive for IR.
You can check it: if you look at a remote controller (for your TV maybe) through your mobiles camera, and press a button on the controller. If íou see it flashing, but not with your eyes only, then you can youse your camera device to detect wether the suspicous device emits infrared rays…
Many thanks for your interesting contributions and not being judgemental.
I had hoped someone would have a scanning software app on the phone or tablet to do a scan, very much like we have WiFi detectors for routers.
I read many stories of air b&b accomodation where cameras have been put in toilets or bedrooms so imagined the technology existed to find them easy. If you write such a app perhaps you can make money.
Yes we do have a controlling group who have rights of access and the president is a very strong character so I imagine with the evidence he has before him action will be taken and strong words will pass but failing that he will inform the police and our local mayor.
My role is just informatics but usually technical questions fall at my door.
I did also wonder about picture property as that has a section on camera, but not sure if it identifies IP address if not a make and given IP address if that could be noted as a black box on a wall against a mobile phone style.
Assuming the camera has an online backup, you might be able to find out with a packet sniffer. I have never used one of those. I believe in the US most security cameras only have on site backups, but I dont work at a job that deals with them and so I could be very wrong.
Without that kind of thing though, it’s likely impossible. This is why phones often make a snapshot sound when taking a picture, so people nearby know a picture might’ve been taken of them. (Well, I know that’s a law in Japan, might not be the case elsewhere).
I think going to the President is the easiest recourse available to you. Your neighbor is likely to not like being accused, but thems the breaks.